Power laundry washer



Patented July 29, 1941 'UNlT'ED STATES rarest orriee,

Harry Solomon, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor' of onehalf to Abraham Geisin-ger, Bronx County,-

Applicatien .Eu-ne 3, 1940}S"crial N0. 338,459

4 Claims.

My invention relates to washing machines, and more specifically, to unloader units and to a built-inunloader for the types of power washers that are used in the large industrial wet-washlaundries.

' The most effective wash machines used in the power laundries are constructed in cylindrical form with inner reversibly rotating drums provided with inward side extending fins, ribs or ledges to catch and lift the wash, as the efficiency of the machine depends on the distance of'the drop of the wash as well as on the available tumbling space inside the drum.

The wash unloaders now knownare construct-- ed oi wire and cloth and are designed to lie inside the rotating drum in a semi-circular shape and'rest' on or against the edges of its ribs. Thus, by rounding the interior of the drum at the ribs, the ledges are prevented partially from raising the wash and the useful space adjacent the drumon the ledges is lost and the effective volume of the machine is decreased.

In order to obtain the greatest efii'ciency from a washing machine and yet provide it with an unloading element, I have modified and changed the structure of my unloader so that it will rest snugly against the inner wall of the drum of the machine and lie fiat on the ledges so as not to impair their lifting qualities and decrease the effective volume of the machine.

In addition, I intend to reduce the weight of the rotating drum and decrease the amount of material used in its construction by removing the drum walls in back of the resting position of the unloader and having the unloader serve as part of the drum walls.

I accomplish several of my objects by forming my unloader of rigid arcuate shaped sections hinged together and keyed or pinned to the ribs of the drum. Other objects are accomplished by forming an unloader of rigid arcuate shaped sections hinged together and keyed or pinned to the ribs of the drum and removing the drum walls to the rear of the rigid sections.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, which discloses the preferred embodiment of the invention, and pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a vertical transverse section through one of the drums of a washing machine and shows my unloader in the proper position for the washing process;

Fig 2 shows a side longitudinal view of a washing machine with the outer casing in section, the drum toward the left of. the machine in elevation and the-other in vertical section; and, Fig. 3- shows an end view of the unloader with the outer cylinder in section.

Similar reference characters indicate correspending parts threughout the several views in the drawing.

' Referring to the drawing in detail, the washing machine I is comprised of a-cylinder 2 ,havingside walls 3 and a door 4 and end walls not shown. The cylinder encases a plurality of reversibly r0- tatable pockets or drums 6 carried by shafts I resting in the bearings 8.

' Each of the drums G is formed with two end walls it, inwardly projecting ribs or vanes II', II and I3", and a side Wall part M. The ribs and the side Wall part It extend between and are permanently secured to the end walls 8. The-sidewall part I4 extends arcuately and upwardly from the rib I3 to a door Ill hinged thereto and forming a part thereof when closed. The door IB- isprovided with a suitable latch element [9' for releasably securing it to a frame member l6 extending between and secured to the end walls 9,

and serving as one extremity of the wall part l4.

The remainder of the drum comprises a side wall part l5 formed of a plurality of sections l1 and I3 joined together by hinges l9. Each of these sections is formed with arcuate shaped end pieces 2 and strip members 2|, which are closely spaced circumferentially of the drum as indicated at 2|, and which extend between and are secured to the end pieces 21!, whereby each section is in the form of a grid. The end pieces 2!] are in the nature of caps, and extend across end portions of the strip members 2| at opposite sides of the latter.

The arcuate shape of the end pieces 20 and the side wall part M result in the construction of a cylindrical drum of a suitable size to fit within the cylinder. The sections H and I8 are each provided adjacent the ribs with a sloping side wall and an offset top piece 22 so that adjacent parts of the sections can rest in intimate contact with the ribs l I, I2 and I3. The section I! adjacent the frame member is is hinged thereto, thus hingedly securing the side wall part I5 to the fixed wall part M. The section ll adjacent the rib I3 is provided with a tongue member 23 suitable for use with a lock 24, and also for attaching to a withdrawal element such as the power hook 25. The tongue member 23, the lock 24 and the hook 25 only show one embodiment to exemplify a structure for joining the section I! to a source of power for withdrawing the unloader, and for a locking mechanism, but any other means suitable for the purpose can be used.

The sections I8 are provided at the toe of the angled ofiset part 22 with the extending projection or lip 26, and the ribs II and i2 with a corresponding indenture 21 to receive the lip when the sections are extended to form part of the drum walls, and hold the sections from collapsing inwardly during rotation.

When the machine is washing, the cylinder door 4 and the drum door I 0 are closed; the drums are rotated; and, the sections l1 and [8 are extended and form part of the drum walls. When it is desired to remove the wash, the rotation of the drum is stopped, the doors opened, the lock released and the withdrawal element 25 is inserted in the tongue 23. On the application of force to the hook, the sections gradually collapse, close together and are lifted from the drum through the doors carrying or tumbling the wash from the machine. The angled ofiset part 22 and the lip 26 are shaped to conform to the ribs and their indentures 21 and together with the hinging of the sections permit the gradual collapse and withdrawal of the unloader with the wash from the drum, and the return and selfpositioning of the sections inside the drum, ad-

jacent the ribs and with the lips seated in their indentures.

. It is of course understood that the various em-' bodiments above described and shown in the drawing are merely illustrative of my invention, and that numerous changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of this invention.

I claim:

1.. A drum, for a washing machine, comprised of end walls, a cylindrical side wall and ribs, said ribs extending longitudinally in the drum and being secured to the end walls and being provided with indentures therein, said side wall in part being secured to said end walls and in part being formed in sections hinged together, one of said sections being hinged to said secured part of the side wall and another of the sections being locked to one of the ribs, said hinged sections being formed, and shaped to rest adjacent to and bear against said ribs, and projections on said hinged sections, said projections extending into the indentures in the ribs to aid in retaining the hinged sections in position.

2. A drum for a washing machine comprised of end walls, a side wall section, said section being secured to the end walls, a second side wall section, said second section being formed of a plurality of grids hinged together and extending into proximity to the end walls, one of said grids being secured to the first named side wall section, a member extending between the end walls, and means for hingedly connecting another of said grids to said member.

3. A drum for a washing machine comprising end walls, a plurality of side wall parts, one of said side wall parts being secured to the end walls, another of the side wall parts being formed in sections hinged together and to the part secured to the end walls and extending into proximity to the end walls, the section furthest removed from the section hinged to the first mentioned side wall part being removably secured to the first mentioned side wall-part.

4. A drum for a washing machine comprising a pair of end walls, a side wall portion extending between and permanently secured to the end walls, a second side wall portion formed of a plurality of hinged sections, the sectionalside wall portion extending between and into proximity to the end walls, means for hingedly connecting the sectional'side wall portion at one edge thereof to the permanently secured side wall portion, and means for releasably securing 'said sectional portion at another point thereof to said permanently secured side wall portion.

HARRY SOLOMON... 

